Swinging outside brush for bottle washing machines



Aug. 4, 1931. G. J. MEYER ET AL SWINGING OUTSIDE BRUSH FOR BOTTLEWASHING MACHINES Filed Feb. 9, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS WIESES WW /14- i Aug. 4, 1931. G. J. MEYER ET AL 7,

I SWINGING OUTSIDE BRUSH FOR BOTTLE WASHING MACHINES Filed Feb. 9, 1925I s Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES INVENTORS ATTORNEY.

Aug. 4, 1931.

G. J. MEYER ET AL SWINGING OUTSIDE BRUSH FOR BOTTLE WASHING MACHINESFiled Feb. 9, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 W/TNESSES Ai'ToRA/EY atented Aug. 4,1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE :rEORGE J. MEYER AND OTTO DREHER, OFMILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AND JAMES CAMPO, OE STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNORS TO GEO. J. MEYER MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE,WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WIS- CONSIN SWINGING OUTSIDE BRUSH FOR-BOTTLE WASHING MACHINES Application filed February 9, 1925. Serial No.7,862.

This invention relates to bottle-washing nachines, particularly such asshown in Let'- ers Patent 1,429,960, issued to George J. \leyer,September 26, 1922, wherein bottles lIG lifted from' an intermittentlymoving ronveyer and, when so lifted, are carried beween rotating brushesfor brushing them )II the outside.

An object of the invention is to eiiect the :leaning of bottles and thelike by passng them between rotating brushes, the n'ushes being somounted as to yield bodily o the pressure of the bottles against them asto adapt themselves to the changes n the diameter of the bottle.

An object of the invention is to so mount LIld drive the rotatingbrushes as to render hem more sensitive to the pressure of the )ottlesas the bottles pass between them so bet they yield more readily andconseuently the brush bristles are flexed to a esser degree and soperform their cleaning peration more thoroughly and with less vear.

Another object of the invention is to lssociate with the outsidebrushing mechalism a means for lifting bottles so that their iottomsbear against the brush which is urning toward the approaching bottlesand vhich will therefore not brush the dirt from he bottoms of thebottles onto the bottles .hat have received the outside brushing.

Another object of the invention is to so nount the brushes that they maybe readly removed from the levers by means-of vhich they are suspendedso that they may )e cleaned or replaced 7 by fresh brushes vithoutmaterially delaying the operation )f the machine.

With the above and other objects in view he invention consists in theswinging out- :ide brushes for bottle-washing machines |.s hereinclaimed and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, n which like characters ofreference indi- :ate the same arts in different views,

Fig. 1 is a si e elevation of a portion of a )ottle-washing machineshowing the swingng outside brushes of the present invenion;

Fig. 2 a plan view of the outside brushing mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the brushing mechanism as seen from the otherside of the machine;

Fig. at is a sectional view on the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the outside brushing mechanismshowing the bottle lifting mechanism holding one bottle between thebrushes and holding another bottle with its bottom against one of thebrushes,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the'removable brush bearingbushings,

Fig. 7 is a detail View partly in section of one of the brush bearings,and

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the bottle lifting mechanism.

tles 13 travel through the machine from left to right asviewed in Fig. 1and reach the part of the machine shown to receive an external cleaningpreliminary to their internal cleaning.

As in the atent referred to there is provided a vertically reciprocatingbottle-lifting mechanism consisting of rotatin upright spindles 14 toenter the mout s of bottles in one row of bottle-holders and lift thembetween a pair of oppositely rotating brushes 15 while turning them andreciproeating them between the brushes to expose all parts of the outersurface of the bottles to t 1e cleaning action of the brushes, whilespray-pipes 16 supply water for the cleaning operation.

The method of mounting and driving the the arms 'considerationin thepresent case;

' readily lifted of special A brushsupporting frame consisting of arms17 mounted on a shaft 18 is pivotally supported in the main frame bysaid shaft fitting in brushes 15, however, is a matter bearings 19 andis counter-balanced by weights 20 mounted on the rearwardl bentextension at one end of said shaft. n the other end of the shaft is adriving pulley 21 for driving the brushes. Upon the horizontallyextending arms 17 is 'a housing 22 covering the brushes and confiningthe water spray, and this housing is adjustable on to position thebrushes with respect to the bottle-lifting mechanism by clamping means23 at the rear end of the housing, and by set-screws 24 in brackets 25of the housing, through which the arms pass. J ack-screws 26 threadedthrough said brackets and passing through slots of the arms, bear onstationary supports 27 to adjustably determine the normal elevation ofthe brushes, though the brushes may be because of their supporting framebeing pivotally mounted and counterbalanced.

Mounted to oscillate in bearings at the ends of the housing are a pairof spraytubes 16 which are provided with hose connections '28, throughwhich water is supplied for the forcible sprays directed against thebottles, as shown in Fig. 5. Fixed on these spray-tubes at both ends ofthe housing are the brush-hangers 29 in the form of bell-crank levershaving-the brushes 15 journaled in their longer arms and havingintermeshing gear segments 30 on; their shorter arms so that the brushesmove in unison toward or away from the central plane between them inwhich the bottlelifting mechanism operates.

Loosely mounted on the ends of the water tubes 16 are brush-drivingsleeves 31, each having a sprocket and chain connection 32 with thebrush 15 therebeneath. The sleeves are geared together by intermeshinggears 33 thereon so as to turn the brushes at the. same speed but inopposite directions, as indicated by the arrows, and receive their drivefrom the drive'pulley, 21 by one of them having a chain and sprocketconnection 34 therewith.

It will beinoted that although the weight of the brushes tends to cause,them to swing toward each other, this tendency is opposed by thedirection of the drive thereon for the influence of the drive is tocause the brushes to spread farther apart and consequently the brushesare sensitive to the pressure of the bottles as the latter are orcedbetween them and yield readily without requiring the brush bristles. tobend to any considerable extent, with the result.

that said brush bristles are more efiective in their action.Incidentally this sensitive the like.

suspension of the brushes which permits them to adapt themselves to thecontour of the bottle materially increases the life of the brushes overbrushes mounted in fixed bearings.

In order that the brushes may be quickly removed and replaced they arejournaled in removable bearing bushings 35, shown in Fig. 6, suchbushings being provided with opposite key projections 36 fitting in kegrooves in the ends of the levers 29 an when in place, being held by aset-screw or As shown the set-screw takes the form of a grease cup 38with its stem engaging an opening 37 to continue the passageway of thegrease-cup to the bore of the bearing bushing, so that the hearing maybe lubricated. By loosening the grease-cups the bushings 35 may bewithdrawn from the openings in the ends of the levers 29 .in which theyfit, thus exposing slots 39 in said ends of the levers which are ofsufficient width to permit the brush trunnions to pass therethrough sothat when the bushings are withdrawn the brushes are free to be removedthrough said slots.

It is found desirable to mount the brushes 15 above the level of travelof the bottoms of the. bottles on the conveyer so that the right-handbrush, as shown in Fig. 1, will not throw dirt which may be carried byit onto the bottles that have received an out- Instead it is desirableto slightly lift th bottles of the row following the row being liftedbetween the brushes to have their bottoms brushed by the lefthand brushin Fig. 1, for such dirt as may be spattered by that brush will not fallupon bottles that have been cleaned.

The vertically reciprocating bottle lifting and rotating mechanism, asseen in Figs. 5 and 8, comprises the row of rotating upright spindles 14mounted on and carried by a miter gear cross-head 40, which isvertically reciprocated on stationary guides 43 and is lifted by meansof-levrs 44 having links 45 side cleaning.

connected therewith and slip joint links 46 carries a sprocket on oneend connected by a chain 54 driven from a sprocket wheel 55 on a driveshaft 56.

To accomplish the lifting of bottles for the bottom cleaning themiter-gear crosshead 40, which is raised periodically for lifting a rowof bottles between the brushes, has mounted on it clamp members 41 carrying upstanding "pins 42 in position to enter the'bottles of the saidrowi and' these pins are of such length that they engage the bottoms ofthe bottles and lift them so that they bear against the brush, as shownin Fig. 5. Inasmuch as the bottles are lifted by their bottoms insteadof by their necks, no adjustment is required when smaller bottles areused.

From the foregoing it. will be seen that the improvements constitutingthe present invention make for a more thorough cleaning of the outsideof the bottles with less wear on the brushes, while permitting thebrushes to be replaced when necessary by a simple and quickly performedchange that will not materially delay the, operation of the machine.Also that the bottles will receive a bottom cleaning by mechanism thatwill not foul the cleaned bottles and that does notrequire ad 'ustmentwhen. a change is made to bottles 0 a different size.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, a reciprocatingbottle-lifter for engaging the bottles and lifting them out of theconveyer, a pair of rotating brushes between which the bottles are movedby the bottle-lifter, and means for yieldingly supporting the'brushes topermit them to yield to the pressure of the bottles thereagainst.

2. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for. engaging and lifting the bottles from the conveyer, rotatingbrushes between which the bottles are moved by the bottle-lifting means,and swinging supports for the brushes permitting them to yield to thepressure of the bottles thereagainst.

3. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for lifting the bottles from the conveyer, rotating brushesbetween which the bottles are moved by the bottle-lifting means,-yielding means for supporting the brushes, and driving means for thebrushes tending to cause them to separate so as to more readily yield tothe pressure of the bottles against them.

4. In bottle-washing machines, a air of rotating brushes, means formoving t e bottle between the brushes, and yielding means supporting thebrushes permitting them to yield so as to be displaced by the passage ofthe bottle therebetween.

when the bottles are forced between them.

' 7. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, abottle-lifting means for lifting bottles from the conveyer, rotatingbrushes between which the bottles are forced by the bottle-liftingmeans, levers by means of which the brushes are suspended, said leversbeing connected together to move in opposite directions, and drivinmeans for the brushes tending to cause t em to separate to render themsensitive to the pressure of the bottles against them.

8. -In a bottle-washing machine, a bottle conveyer, lifting means forlifting bottles from the conveyer, rotating brushes between which thebottles are forced by the lifting means, a pair of suitably mountedspraytubes for spraying water on the bottles, bellcrank levers fixed onthe spray-tubes and having segmental rack connection with each 1 otherand forming suspending means for the brushes, driving sleeves looselymounted on the spray-tubes and geared together and having chain. driveconnection with the brushes.

9. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, lifting meansfor lifting the bottles from the conveyer, a pair of brushes betweenwhich the bottles are forced by the lifting means, swinging arms formingsuspending means for said brushes, bushings slidably mounted in the endsof said arms and having the brush shafts journaled therein, there beingslots at the ends of the arms through which the brush shafts are free topasswhen the bushings are removed.

10. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for lifting bottles from the conveyer, rotating brushes betweenwhich the bottles are moved b the bottle-lifting means, and meanscarried by the bottle-hfting means for entering the bottles next to thelifted bottles and lifting them so that their bottoms bear against oneof the brushes.

11. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for lifting bottles from the conveyer, rotatin brushes betweenwhich the bottles are move by the bottle-lifting means, and pins carriedby the bottle-lifting means entering the bottles next to the liftedbottles and engaging the bottoms of the bottles for moving the bottomsof the bottles against one of the brushes.

12. In a bottle-washing maching having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for liftmoving downwardly adapted to have the bottles forced.between them by the bottlelifting means, and pins on the bottle-liftingmeans for entering the bottles following the 5 lifted bottles to movetheir bottoms against one of the brushes.

13. In a bottle-Washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for lifting the bottles from the conveyer, a pair of brushesbetween which the bottles are moved by the bottle-lifting means, ahousing within which the brushes are mounted, and a counter-balancedvertically swinging frame carrying the housing.

14. In a bottle-washing machine having a bottle conveyer, bottle-liftingmeans for lifting'bottles from the conveyer, a pair of rotating brushesbetween which bottles are moved by the bottle-lifting means, a housingwithin whichthe brushes are mounted, and a vertically swingingcounter-balanced frame on which the housing is adjustably mounted.

15. In a bottle washing machine having a bottle conveyer for conductingbottles in an inverted position, a brush beneath which the bottles pass,and means for lifting the bottles when they are beneath the brush toreceive a bottom brushing.

16. In a bottle washing machine having a bottle conveyer for conductingbottles in an inverted position, a brush beneath which the bottles pass,and bottle-lifting means entering the bottles and engaging the bottomsthereof for lifting the bottles into engagement with the brush.

17. In a bottle washing machine, the. com- 'bination of a pair ofrotatable brushes adapted to receive a relatively movable bot- 40" tletherebetween, and yielding means sup porting the brushes for permittingtheir variable' separation in accordance with the breadth of the bottlepassing therebetween.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures.

GEORGE J. MEYER. OTTO DREHER. JAMES CAMPO.

